The Problem with Public School Lunch

The number of vegan and vegetarian children and teens in the US is growing. Some arrive at this decision because they grew up with that diet. Religion also can be a factor for some. Many young children are shocked to learn that the food on their plate comes from an animal. They don’t want to be cruel, so they decide to quit eating meat, unless their parents talk them out of it or punish them for their refusal to eat meat. Teens often revisit this issue and decide to go veg because they are keenly aware of the health problems associated with eating animal products. They are well educated about global warming and the harm that animal agriculture is causing to our planet. They would like to live in a healthy ecosystem when they are older. What happens when these young people go to school and encounter public school lunch? What are their options?

This is a two part series. First is a focus on the need to change the National School Lunch Program. Next will be an article on what our area public schools provide for vegan/vegetarian students.

More than 16% of children and adolescents are overweight and one in three will develop diabetes. In 2008, the American Academy of Pediatrics called for cholesterol screening of children and cholesterol medication for children as young as 8. The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences wants school lunch programs to decrease animal fats due to exposure of children to dioxins (cancer-causing toxins found in meat and milk).

In 2007, the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund linked processed meats (bacon, ham, hot dogs, salami, sausages, etc.) to colon cancer. Last year, millions saw the shocking video on national TV of dragging “downer cattle” into a CA slaughterhouse, where the beef would eventually end up in our public school lunch program. Because of those health concerns, Alice Waters, the famous CA chef, along with many parents, health professionals, dieticians, and groups such as the Earth Day Network, Better School Food, and Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine are demanding significant change in the governmental structure of the National School Lunch Program, as well as the food it serves.

The US Dept. of Agriculture has jurisdiction over the agricultural interests of farmers and over school lunches which is a conflict of interest. The National School Lunch Program, which started in 1946, cost American taxpayers 9 billion dollars in 2007. Our tax money pays large-scale farmers to grow monoculture crops with heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides, as well as confined animal feed operations (CAFOs) with their use of antibiotics and growth hormones. Then the USDA uses more of our tax dollars to buy their leftovers (surplus commodities) and gives them to our nation’s lunch program.

The Cancer Project is petitioning the USDA to eliminate processed meats from the lunch program. Other reformers want the National School Lunch Program moved under the Dept. of Education. The USDA is also being urged to support sustainable and organic farming. Until substantive changes occur, several states are taking direct control of the food they serve their youth. Healthy School Lunch Program resolutions have been passed in 4 states-CA, NY, Fla. and Hawaii. This gives students the option of a vegetarian choice. All 110 public schools in Gwinnett County (Atlanta area) offer fresh fruit, soy milk, tofu-based corn dogs or other veg options.

One high school in CA incorporated vegan foods into the regular menu, after seeing the popularity of a student-run vegetarian “Smart Cart.” Preschoolers in Longmont, CO help grow the fruits and vegetables they eat. There are schools in CA and Fla. that also have onsite gardens and older students teach nutrition and cooking classes to younger students. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine provides a yearly “School Lunch Report Card” which investigates how healthy our nation’s school food is. They grade high fat, high cholesterol meals versus high fiber, plant-based choices, if a vegan option is available, the numbers of servings of fresh fruit or low fat vegetable side dishes, healthy non-dairy beverage and the promotion of healthy eating. In 2008, 70 elementary schools across the nation were analyzed. Those schools receiving a grade A were located in MD, Fla., Neb., NC, Va., and CA. One school in ND was surveyed, Anamoose, and it received a D-.

The Child Nutrition Act comes up for reauthorization this year. This includes the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast program and the Special Supplemental Nutritional Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Encourage your legislators to be proactive in placing our nation’s children and their health as a top priority.